In the last two posts, we have worked on our Ki Khanga™Characters. In this post, we complete our characters.

Milton Davis and I have decided to do a contest in celebration of Ki Khanga’s release in 2015: send in your completed character with their back-story. The top five characters will be included among the Ki Khanga pre-made characters in the rulebook and the best one will be illustrated by a popular artist. You will also receive credit in the rulebook if your character is included and your character will forever become part of the Ki Khanga Universe!

If you would like to know more about the world of Ki Khanga in order to flesh out your character, I suggest you read the Anthology.

Now, let’s put the finishing touches on our character as Milton does so with his character, Kofi:

Remember, using the 150 points of Aṣe allotted to him, Milton built Kofi’s Abilities, Calculated Abilities, Skills and Talents and now has 2 points of Aṣe left to finish building his character.

Milton’s breathing finally returns to normal. “I’ll never run that far again,” he vows. He then takes another sip of coffee. It is still hot; still delicious. Milton smiles at the cup and then takes a quick peek at the TRAIT COST CHART once more:

TRAITCOST IN AṢE

Ability 2 per rank

Skill 1 per rank

Talent 1 per Talent or Talent rank

Effect (base Effect cost + modifiers) x rank + flat modifiers

Defense 2 per rank

Fighting 10 per addl. Rank

Health 10 per addl. Rank

Will 10 per addl. Rank

Wealth 10 per addl. Rank.

Milton looks at the formula for the cost of Effects and calls Balogun for clarity.

“I knew years ago, when I first shook your hand in Starbucks,” Balogun replies.

“But how…”

“I’ve been playing roleplaying games for three decades,” Balogun answers. “I am roleplaying games; roleplaying games are me. There is no question about roleplaying games I do not hear; no confusion, elation, triumph or failure involving roleplaying games I do not feel. Every die thrown; every character made…I am there.”

“I thought so,” Milton says.

“The formula simply means that each Effect has a cost attached to it,” Balogun says. If you modify the power in any way, it increases the cost of the Effect. The cost also increases per rank you decide to start with. For example, if we take the Change SkinEffect, the base cost is 3 points of Aṣe / rank. You can transform into an ordinary animal, or a duplicate of another person (or humanoid) with this Effect. You choose which type – animal or human – when you purchase Change Skin. Change Skin can be purchased twice – once to transform into animals; once to mimic humans. If you can only transform into one specific type of animal, or only mimic a specific person, the cost is reduced to 2 points of Aṣe /rank.”

“I see,” Milton says.

“So, if the character Thelma has Change Skin and can only mimic her uncle Nate,” Balogun continues. “The base cost of the Effect is 2 per rank. She doesn’t use any modifiers and takes one rank in Change Skin, which costs her two points of Aṣe.”

“Got it,” Milton replies. “So…”

“Yes, we can meet next Tuesday to go over the character,” Balogun replies. “You’re welcome. Peace!”

Balogun hangs up. Milton sips a bit more coffee and reads the descriptions for Effects:

EFFECTS

Effects are extraordinary abilities possessed by characters, creatures and even weapons and items. They can be magical, psionic, divine, biological, or technological, as described below (you choose the Source).

SOURCE

Biological: Comes from your own physiology, drawing power from the function of your organs or stores of personal aṣe. An octopus’ ink, neurotoxin and color / texture changes are biologically generated Effects. For checks, the base is END. ♥

Divine: Comes from a higher being or spirit. Divine power is usually available only to those with an allegiance to that divinity. The base is PRE. ♠

Magical: Comes from manipulation of mystic forces (some call “universal aṣe”). This includes the casting of spells and use of potions, scrolls and many items. The base is WIS. ♥

Psionic: Comes from the psyche of the wielder. The power of your mind. These include the classic mental powers of Telepathy and Mind Control, but can include any of the effects. The base is WIS. ♥

Technological: Comes from technological devices and specialized equipment. The technology may come from an advanced society, an alien race, etc., which is to be described at your character’s creation. The base is INT. ♦

Effects are broken down as follows:

Name: Name of the Effect. With the GM’s permission, you can change the name to something that sounds cooler, more intimidating, or more fitting for your style of play.

Cost: The cost of the power – per rank – in Aṣe.

Time: The amount of time it takes to cast or activate the Effect. An Effect with a Time of “1 Turn” can be used on your turn to act in a round, just like any other Action. Effects with a Time of “1 Round”, means the Effect happens on your turn in the following round and you can do nothing but perform that Effect.

Duration: How long the Effect lasts. “Sustained” means the Effect lasts as long as you concentrate on it (see ‘Concentration’ Skill); “Instantaneous” Effects happen and then end in the same Action it was used. Some outcomes are, however, permanent. For example, Heal is Instantaneous, but the healing it causes is permanent. “1 Round (or 2, 3, 5, etc.)” means the Effect last 1 round per rank. So, if you had Animal Tongue 5, which has a duration of 1 Round, the Effect, once activated, would last 5 rounds (or until you decided to cancel it).

CHANGE SKIN – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: 3 Rounds. You can transform into an ordinary animal, or a duplicate of another person (or humanoid).

CHILL – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 1 Round. You can lower temperature in a 10’ radius around you per rank, causing those in the area to shiver and their breath to be visible (reveals invisible or hidden characters).

DARKSIGHT – Cost: 1/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 1 Round. You can see in total darkness as if it was daylight.

FROST – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 2 Rounds. You can cover a target with a layer of frost.

HEAL – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: Instantaneous. You can reduce the Condition of others by one step per rank. You can heal one person/round per 2 ranks of Heal (round down). Thus, at Heal 7, you can heal up to 3 people per round. At a +1/rank cost, you can also Heal yourself.

IGNITE – Cost: 1/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: Instantaneous. You can create a small spark of heat that can light candles, fuses, or parchment.

INSUBSTANTIAL – Cost: Special (see below); Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 1 Sustained. You can assume one of four Effects, each with a flat cost. For checks, each is considered to be 5 ranks.

Fluid/Rubbery (5 Aṣe): You can become a fluid mass, or a stretchable, rubbery form. You can flow through any sort of opening, under doors, and so on. You can automatically flow out of any restraint that is not watertight. You can exert normal STR and you can still push or carry objects. You may attempt to catch a falling person or object, cushioning the fall with your flexible form. This reduces falling damage by your Health + Defenses + a played card from your Hand.

Gaseous Particles (10 Aṣe): You can become a cloud of gas or fine particles (including a swarm of tiny insects). You have no effective STR in gaseous form, but you have immunity to physical damage. Energy and area attacks damage you normally. You can flow through any opening that isn’t airtight.

Energy (15 Ase): You can become coherent energy. You have no effective STR, but you are immune to physical damage. Energy attacks – other than the energy constituting your form (to which you are immune) – damage you normally. You can pass through solid objects permeable to your type of energy, but energy resistant barriers, such as force-fields, block your movement.

Incorporeal (20 Aṣe): You can become an incorporeal phantom. You can pass through solid matter at your normal speed and you are immune to physical and energy damage. Sensory Effects and those that target Will still work on you. You must also choose one other reasonably common Effect that works on you while you are incorporeal. You have no effective STR and cannot affect the physical world. Your sensory Effects work normally. Unless you have immunity to suffocation, you must hold your breath while passing through a solid object and you can suffocate. If you revert to solid form while inside a solid object, you suffer damage equal to the object’s Health, minus your END. If not Incapacitated (or worse), you are immediately ejected from the object into the nearest open space. If you are Incapacitated, you are trapped inside the object and your Condition worsens to Dying on the following round.

INVISIBILITY – Cost: 2 or 4/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: Sustained. You can vanish from sight at will, gaining total visual concealment, although other senses can still detect you. This costs 2/rank if you are only invisible to normal vision; 4/rank if you are invisible to all visual senses, including infrared and ultraviolet.

LEVITATE – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 2 Rounds. You – or a human-sized creature or object – can rise and float in the air.

LIGHT – Cost: 1/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 2 Rounds. You can create a light that illuminates an area within a 15’ radius / rank.

LOCK / OPEN – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 2 Rounds. You can seal an object, making it magically locked, or unlock a locked object.

POSTCOGNITION – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: 1 Instantaneous. You can see visions of the past. You pick up on past information in an area or from a subject.

READ MINDS – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: Sustained. You can read another character’s mind by making a check against the target’s Will.

SAFE FALL – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: Instantaneous. As long as you are capable of Action, you can fall – without harm – a distance equal to your Safe Fall rank x 20’. If there is a handhold for you to grab – or if you have the Wall-Crawl Effect – you can stop your fall with a DEX check.

SHIELD – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 1 Round. You can create a barrier of force that protects against frontal attacks of any type. Shield absorbs 2 points of damage per rank (works like a normal shield). Shield cannot be used to protect others.

SHOCK – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: Instantaneous. You can deal electrical damage by touch, or by channeling the electricity through a conduit.

SUMMON ANIMAL – Cost: 1/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 1 Round. You can summon an ordinary animal of your choosing to your area. The animal can be your steed whether it ordinarily is or not. The size of the animal depends on your Summon Animal rank:

TELEPATHY – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: Sustained. You can communicate over a distance using a mental transmission. Communication is instantaneous with any subject within your range. Your range is equal to your Telepathy rank x 1 mile.

TELEPORT – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 2 Turns; Duration: Instantaneous. You disappear from one location and reappear in another instantaneously. You can teleport a distance up to your Teleport rank x 500’.

THUNDERCLAP – Cost: 2/rank; Time: 1 Turn; Duration: 2 Rounds. You can emit or summon a powerful, concussive sound that causes your target to suffer Deaf and Dazed Conditions. For an additional cost per rank of +1, you can affect an area equal to a 10’ radius / rank.

TRANSFORM – Cost: 2 – 5/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: Sustained. You can change objects into other object, altering their shape or material compositions. What you can transform affects cost per rank as follows:

2/rank: Transform one thing or substance into another thing or substance, such as metal into wood, iron into glass, or broken objects into repaired ones.

3/rank: Transform a broad group of things into a single result, such as any metal into gold; or a single thing into a broad group, such as gold into any metal.

4/rank: Transform a broad group into a broad group, such as all metals into all liquids.

WALL OF FORCE – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: 3 Rounds. You can create a wall of force that repels all projectiles and cannot be passed physically (not even by incorporeal creatures). For an additional cost per rank of +2, you can create an invisible wall that can be seen through from either side.

Cold: You can lower the temperature in an area, creating up to extreme cold. Those in the area must make a Health check against your Weathercraft Total -2 for uncomfortable cold (a cold winter day); Weathercraft Total for intense cold (arctic conditions); or Weathercraft Total +2 for extreme cold (an arctic winter storm). A Fumble = Dying; Failure = Incapacitated; Partial Success = Exhausted; Full Success = Fatigued; High Success = Suffer no Condition. Every 3 rounds, the condition worsens by one level until removed from the cold.

Heat: You can raise the temperature in an area, creating up to extreme heat. Those in the area must make a Health check against your Weathercraft Total -2 for uncomfortable heat (a hot summer day); Weathercraft Total for intense cold (a blazing desert); or Weathercraft Total +2 for extreme cold (the edge of a volcano). A Fumble = Dying; Failure = Incapacitated; Partial Success = Exhausted; Full Success = Fatigued; High Success = Suffer no Condition. Every 3 rounds, the condition worsens by one level until removed from the heat.

Impede Movement: You can impede movement through the area with high winds, icy or wet surfaces, and so on. Reduce speed by up to ¼.

Reduce Visibility: You create a dense fog that causes any Action requiring sight to suffer a -5 penalty.

You can use one aspect of the weather at a time. You can use more than one aspect at a time (e.g. Cold, Impede Movement and Reduce Visibility all happen at once; victims suffer all the effects) for a cost per rank increase of +1.

WRATH OF ṢANGO – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: Instantaneous. You can hurl bolts of electricity. These bolts ignore all armor. If the target is wearing metal armor, he suffers the Dying Condition. Otherwise, the target is Incapacitated. The range of Wrath is 100’.

ZOMBIFICATION – Cost: 3/rank; Time: 1 Round; Duration: Permanent. You can control the minds of others. The Effect lasts until you relinquish control.

Milton chooses the Stun Effect, which costs 1 point of Aṣe per rank. He purchases two ranks, so he has no more points of Aṣe left.

Now, Milton completes the design of his character. To do this, he must include some important information:

Name

Since Ki-Khanga™: The Sword & Soul RPG is set in a mythical Afrika, names are very important to the people. In fact, your surname is so important in many cultures that it is said before your given name, thus Oyabode (given, or first name) Ojetade (surname) would be called Ojetade Oyabode.

Most people on the continent of Ki-Khanga consider your name and / or your title to represent your mission, your power and your challenge. Your name tells people your personal story.

For example, in Oyo – the renowned warrior Balogun Oyayemi Adetutu’s name can be translated as: Balogun (“War Chief”) Oyayemi (“Oya befits me”) Adetutu (“The crown is cool”). This name / title combination tells people that their beloved warrior bears the rank of General, or War Chief (Balogun); he is a priest of the goddess Oya, or is to become one (Oyayemi); and that he is destined to rule and his rule will be one of peace and tranquility (Adetutu).

So, put some thought into the name you choose for your character.

Milton has already chosen the name Kofi for his character.

Age

How old is your character? Most adventuring characters are typically between the ages of 20 and 40, but some are younger, as many cultures send teenagers on adventures as part of their passage into adulthood. Characters can also be much older than forty. It is up to you and the concept you have for your character.

Milton decides that the veteran constable, Kofi is 52 years old.

Appearance

What does your hero look like? Consider the character’s ethnicity, country of origin, gender and other factors when determining what he or she looks like. Determine height; weight; build; eye color; hair color, texture, length and style; and skin tone and texture. Also determine what the clothing, weapons and equipment you purchased for your character look like.

Milton determines that Kofi’s country of origin is Asanteman, but he is now a resident of Sati Baa. He is 6’2” tall; weighs 211 pounds; and has a muscular, well-defined build. Kfi’s eyes are brown and his hair is kinky, cut short and is salt-and-pepper colored. His skin is dark brown and leathery.

Motivation

Your motivation is what drives you to be who you are; what keeps you going in the face of adversity. When you play out your character’s motivation, the GM rewards you a point of Aṣe.

Choose one Motivation for your character.

Acceptance: You feel that you are different from others and work hard to gain the trust and acceptance of them.

Doing Good: You believe in doing the right thing and have a strong moral center.

Greed: You seek only to make a profit from your adventuring and hire out your skills and talents to the highest bidder. You may do good deeds, but you figure why not make a living doing so?

Justice: You have a need to see the innocent protected and the guilty punished. You may walk a thin line between seeking justice and seeking vengeance.

Patriotism: You are devoted to the beliefs and morals of your home (or adopted) nation or culture. Perhaps you are the honored champion of your people, but it is the service – not the accolades – that matter to you.

Recognition: You want recognition and /or attention and what better way to get it than doing daring deeds and fighting epic battles?

Responsibility: You feel that it is your duty to use your talents and skills for good. Most likely, you are trying to live up to the teaching of a mentor or the ideals of a predecessor who inspired you.

Thrills: You live for the rush that is brought by overcoming obstacles, winning challenges and surviving danger.

Milton chooses Responsibility as Kofi’s Motivation.

Complications

Complications are the personal challenges that your character faces. They can affect how others treat you and how you interact with your environment. Complications can also provide interesting subplots and plot twists to adventures.

You must choose one Complication, but may choose as many as you wish, as long as the Griot allows it.

Addiction: You have a powerful need – physical, psychological, or spiritual – that you will go out of your way to satisfy. If you are unable to satisfy your addiction, you may suffer other Complications.

Disability: You are blind, deaf, mute, or paraplegic. You may have extraordinary traits that counter the disability, but it will still affect you from time to time.

Enemy: You have an enemy or enemies that are trying to do you harm. Enemies may abduct loved ones, sabotage your missions and attack you and so on.

Fame: You are a public figure, known throughout a country, a region, or even the entire continent.

Honor: You have a strong personal code that you live and act by. This becomes a complication when you face a moral dilemma, or must go against the majority.

Intolerance: You strongly dislike something and actively oppose the thing you dislike, regardless of the consequences.

Obsession: You are possessed with a particular person or thing and pursue it to the exclusion of all else.

Phobia: You are irrationally afraid of something. When confronted with it, it causes you to hesitate, flee or act irrationally.

Quirk: You have certain likes, dislikes, hobbies, or habits that are your “signature”.

Relationship: An important person, or people, in your life get involved in – or interfere with – your affairs in troublesome ways.

Reputation: You have a bad reputation – deserved or not – that affects the way others treat you.

Responsibility: You have family obligations, professional duties, or other demands on your time and attention.

Rivalry: You are in fierce competition with a person or group and try to outdo your rival(s) at every opportunity.

Secret: You have something potentially damaging or embarrassing that you are hiding from the world. Something, or someone, may one day threaten to reveal it.

Scorn: You are part of a group, suffer certain circumstances, or have a certain appearance that provokes others to react toward you with distrust and prejudice.

Temper: Certain things send you into a rage. When you lose your temper, you lash out at whatever provoked you.

Milton decides to pick Fame and Responsibility as Kofi’s Complications.

Now Milton must choose Kofi’s weapons and equipment. Kofi has 6 ranks of Wealth. Milton multiplies Kofi’s Wealth rank by 5 to determine how many Equipment Points (EP) Kofi has. Thus, Kofi has an EP of 30 (6 X 5).

Milton purchases his weapons first. He checks the charts and finds throwing clubs, which cost 1 point of EP each. Milton purchases 10 of them. He has 20 EP left.

MELEE WEAPONS*

ITEM COST

Unarmed Strike, BA-AV Strn/a

Unarmed Strike, GF-HG Strn/a

Unarmed Strike, EX-BE Str n/a

Dagger 1

Punching Dagger 1

Arm Knife 3

Tortoise Shell Knife 6

Wrist Knife 3

Knobkerrie 2

Club 1

Quarterstaff 1

Shortspear 2

Leafspear 8

Longspear 3

Greatspear 5

Trident 8

Hand Axe 3

Battle Axe 6

Great Axe 8

Warhammer 7

Shortsword 6

Broadsword 6

Longsword 6

Scimitar 8

*Your STR is added to the damage you do with melee weapons.

RANGED WEAPONS

ITEM COSTRange

Bola* 1 10’

Net 9 10’

Whip* 3 15’

Blowgun (needle) 1 15’

Dart* 1 20’

Sling (bullet) 1 50’

Throwing Club* 1 20’

Returning Club* 3 20’

Throwing Blade* 3 15’

Throwing Spear* 2 30’

Javelin* 2 30’

Light Crossbow (bolts) 9 80’

Heavy Crossbow (bolts) 16 110’

Shortbow 7 60’

Composite Shortbow 11 70’

Longbow 16 100’

Composite Longbow 21 110’

Greatbow 31 100’

Composite Greatbow 40 110’

*Your STR is added to the damage you do with thrown weapons.

Milton now checks the Armor Chart and chooses a suit of Studded Leather, which costs 3 EP. Milton now has 17 EP.

ARMOR

All armor has a Protection Rank, which is subtracted from the damage an attack does. Armor also has an Agility penalty that reduces AGL – and all Actions associated with it – by the listed number. This penalty only applies when the armor is worn and/or the shield is wielded. Finally, the cost – in Equipment Points – is given.

Light Armor ProtectionAGLCost

Beaded +2 — 2

Chain Shirt (iron) +4 — 10

Leather +2 — 2

Padded +1 — 1

Studded Leather +3 — 3

Woven Cord +1 — 1

Medium Armor

Hide +3 -1 2

Iron Mantle +5 -3 15

Wooden Plate +4 -2 8

Shields

Buckler, Wooden +1 — 1

Buckler, Iron +2 — 2

Small, Leather +1 — 1

Small, Wooden +1 — 1

Small, Iron +2 — 2

Large, Leather +2 — 2

Large, Wooden +2 — 2

Large, Iron +3 — 3

Leather Body +3 -1 3

Milton peruses the clothing and decides to purchase two Explorer’s Outfits, which costs 4 EP each, leaving Milton with 9 EP. He decides to hang on to the 9 EP for spending in Sati Baa and on any adventures he may embark upon.

About Balogun

Balogun is the author of the bestselling Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within and screenwriter / producer / director of the films, A Single Link, Rite of Passage: Initiation and Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster.
He is one of the leading authorities on Steamfunk – a philosophy or style of writing that combines the African and / or African American culture and approach to life with that of the steampunk philosophy and / or steampunk fiction – and writes about it, the craft of writing, Sword & Soul and Steampunk in general, at https://chroniclesofharriet.com/.
He is author of eight novels – the Steamfunk bestseller, MOSES: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Books 1 & 2); the Urban Science Fiction saga, Redeemer; the Sword & Soul epic, Once Upon A Time In Afrika; a Fight Fiction, New Pulp novella, Fist of Afrika; the gritty, Urban Superhero series, A Single Link and Wrath of the Siafu; the two-fisted Dieselfunk tale, The Scythe and the “Choose-Your-Own-Destiny”-style Young Adult novel, The Keys. Balogun is also contributing co-editor of two anthologies: Ki: Khanga: The Anthology and Steamfunk.
Finally, Balogun is the Director and Fight Choreographer of the Steamfunk feature film, Rite of Passage, which he wrote based on the short story, Rite of Passage, by author Milton Davis and co-author of the award winning screenplay, Ngolo.
You can reach him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Afrikan.Martial.Arts; on Twitter @Baba_Balogun and on Tumblr at www.tumblr.com/blog/blackspeculativefiction.

No, there is no blank character sheet yet. We suggest just writing the stats on lined paper. The rulebook will have a blank character sheet. We don’t do levels like DnD. We are looking for people to build characters with a maximum of 150 points of Ase.

[…] In 2011 a fresh voice entered the genre; Balogun Ojetade. Balogun quickly made his mark with his first book Once Upon a Time in Afrika, a book that displayed his deep knowledge in Yoruba folklore and amazing skill with action and adventure. In addition to contributing stories to Griots and Griots Sisters of the Spear, Balogun and I wrote the Ki Khanga Anthology, a collection of stories based on the world we created for the upcoming role playing game of the same name. […]

OTHER BLACKNIFICENCE!

About Me

Balogun is the author of the bestselling Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within and screenwriter / producer / director of the films, A Single Link, Rite of Passage: Initiation and Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster.
He is one of the leading authorities on Steamfunk – a philosophy or style of writing that combines the African and / or African American culture and approach to life with that of the steampunk philosophy and / or steampunk fiction – and writes about it, the craft of writing, Sword & Soul and Steampunk in general, at https://chroniclesofharriet.com/.
He is author of eight novels – the Steamfunk bestseller, MOSES: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Books 1 & 2); the Urban Science Fiction saga, Redeemer; the Sword & Soul epic, Once Upon A Time In Afrika; a Fight Fiction, New Pulp novella, Fist of Afrika; the gritty, Urban Superhero series, A Single Link and Wrath of the Siafu; the two-fisted Dieselfunk tale, The Scythe and the “Choose-Your-Own-Destiny”-style Young Adult novel, The Keys. Balogun is also contributing co-editor of two anthologies: Ki: Khanga: The Anthology and Steamfunk.
Finally, Balogun is the Director and Fight Choreographer of the Steamfunk feature film, Rite of Passage, which he wrote based on the short story, Rite of Passage, by author Milton Davis and co-author of the award winning screenplay, Ngolo.
You can reach him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Afrikan.Martial.Arts; on Twitter @Baba_Balogun and on Tumblr at www.tumblr.com/blog/blackspeculativefiction.